Component

Activity

Status as of 28 March

By Whom

Extending Reception Year programme to selected community- based sites

Subsidies to sites

• 3,000 sites are selected for participation in the programme.
• Some provinces have started disbursing the subsidies of R18,000 per annum in quarterly or monthly transfer payments.

Provincial Departments

Appointment of national and provincial coordinators

• 10 additional posts for the period of 2 years were created in order to appoint a national and 9 provincial coordinators to manage the implementation of the Conditional Grant.
• Interviews have been conducted at national level and in 8 provinces.
• Recommendations have been made for appointment

National Department

Tenders for training of practitioners, training of district officials and conducting an advocacy and information campaign

• Applications for the tenders were received.
• The State Tender Board received a formal complaint from a provider and this is being followed up.
• None of the tenders could be considered.
• Alternative strategies are being considered.

National Department

Tender to supply basic education equipment to 3,000 selected ECD sites in the country

• Recommendations have been made to the Departmental Standing Tender Committee.

National Department

Monitoring and support

• Management committee meets monthly.
• Provinces submit reports to the National Department. Not all provinces adhere to this requirement.

National and Provincial departments

POLICY DEVELOPMENT AND SUPPORT

White Paper 5 on Early Childhood Development

• Policy has been gazetted.
• A planning tool is being developed to assist provinces in calculating the costs of the phasing in of a Reception Year programme for all children by 2010.

National and Provincial departments

Curriculum development and support

Refinement of the National Curriculum Statement for the Foundation Phase of which Grade R is one of the years.

• The Curriculum Statement is in its finalisation stage.
• A generic framework for the development of Learning Programmes has been developed.
• Guidelines for the development of Learning Programmes for Literacy, Numeracy and Life Skills has been developed.

Foundation Phase working group

Production of Season 2 of Takalani Sesame on television, radio and outreach programmes

• A workshop has been conducted to develop the curriculum guidelines for the production companies.
• A workshop was held in New York with Sesame Workshop to finalise production schedules etc.

Sesame Workshop, SABC Education and the Department of Education

Birth – 5 years curriculum guidelines

• No progress in this regard yet.

National Department of Education

Inclusive Education

• Development of a joint strategy for guidelines for educators

National Department of Education

HIV/AIDS

• Development of an elective for registration with the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA)

National Department of Education, SAQA

Systems development

Registration of sites

• Draft guidelines for the registration of sites has been developed by the Department of Social Development

Departments of Education, Social Development, Health etc.

Registration of practitioners with South African Council of Educators

• Initial discussions have been held which needs to be followed up.

Department of Education, SACE

Accreditation of training providers

• Initial discussion have been held with the ETDQA (Education, Training and Development Quality Assurance Body)

Department of Education, ETDQA

Registration of learnerships and skills programmes for trainers and practitioners

• Proposal has been submitted to register learnerships and skills programmes for ECD trainers and practitioners

Department of Education, ETDP SETA: Learnerships and Skills Programmes